acrossadv.prep.adj.
/əˈkrɒs/, U.S. /əˈkrɔs/, /əˈkrɑs/ A. adv.
1. In the form of a cross, crosswise; crossing each other, crossed. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > intersection > [adverb]
acrossa1250
crosswise1398
overcrossa1525
per or in cross1562
crossways1564
athwart1607
decussatively1658
cruciformly1834
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 156 Ualleð biuoren ower weouede a creoiz [?c1225 Cleo. ancros, c1230 Corpus Cambr. o cros, a1250 Titus o cros dun] to ðer eorðe, & siggeð mea culpa.
c1300 St. Faith (Laud) l. 60 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 85 (MED) Huy streiȝhten hire a-long and a-croiz and gret fuyr þare-onder tende.
c1300 St. Francis (Laud) l. 380 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 64 Six wingene him þouȝte he hadde..Þe tweie stoden up a-bouen is heued, and þe tweien bi is side, And þoruȝ-out ouer is wombe a-creoyz tweien þere weren al-so.
c1400 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 225 (MED) A-cros þou berest þyn armes whan þou dauncest narewe.
1439 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 117 (MED) At my hede, Mary Mawdelen leyng my handes a-crosse.
1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. cxciv. sig. l6v Sir hugh..felle doune vpon the grounde by the see banke acros with his armes and..thries cust the grounde.
a1500 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 139 (MED) Galaunt, with thy daggar a-crosse, And thy hanggyng pouche vpon thy narse, Thow art ful abyl to stele a horse.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 602/1 Laye your legges a crosse and I wyll teache you a play.
1590 E. Webbe Rare & Wonderfull Things (new ed.) sig. Cv Two kniues are layde a crosse vpon the loafe.
1628 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. vi. sig. B12v His composure of himself is a studied carelessnesse with his armes acrosse, and a neglected hanging of his head.
1646 H. Lawrence Of Communion & Warre with Angels 117 Thinke not to goe to heaven with your armes acrosse.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. i. v. 16 Alciphron stood..with his arms folded across.
1771 J. Foot Penseroso iii. 120 Yonder, tow'rds the east A warrior frowns in stone, his legs across.
1827 W. Wordsworth Poems on Affections xi, in Poet. Wks. I. 170 Pine not like them with arms across.
1865 A. Manning Belforest II. 65 Mr. and Mrs. Benson led off with hands across.
1938 W. H. Auden Night Mail in Notes & Synopses (GPO Film Libr.) 23 Sheepdogs..slumber on with paws across.
1992 D. Viviers & H. van Schalkwyk Success Eng. Lang. & Communication Skills (2002) 240 With arms across.
2.
a. In a position or direction crossing the length of something, transversely; (hence) from side to side, from corner to corner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adverb] > diagonally
acrossa1350
cornerwise1474
diagonally?1541
diagonially1646
diagonal-wise1665
bias-way1702
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > in transverse direction
thereoverc897
overwardc1300
acrossa1350
out-overa1400
overthwartly?a1425
a-travers1430
overcrossa1525
thwartlong1600
transversely1650
transverse1660
transversally1762
overthwart1764
athwart1879
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > [adverb] > across from side to side
thwart-over1398
across?1523
thwartwise1589
athwart1879
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [adverb] > across
thwart1511
across1580
athwart1611
acrost1775
a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 65 (MED) Tac a vessel of eorthe..Et seththe bore holes acros ithe iiij sides.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn 2837 (MED) They made hir takelyng redy, & wend þe saill a-cros.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxvii The which blyster must be slytte with a knyfe a crosse.
1580 J. Florio tr. J. Cartier Shorte Narr. Two Nauigations Newe Fraunce 46 In the saide braunches, bicause of the greate fiercenesse and swiftnesse wherewith they breake out, and the course of the water, they make certaine Creekes and goings acrosse.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) v. i. 173 H'as broke my head a-crosse, and has giuen Sir Toby a bloody Coxcombe too. View more context for this quotation
1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 985 The Bruchus... The Male..from the back to the tail it is set out with six leek coloured plates running across from the back to both sides.
a1728 J. Woodward Attempt Nat. Hist. Fossils Eng. (1729) i. 91 The partitions are striated across..one of them also divaricates into two, and another into several small ones.
1763 S. Cobb Female Reign vi. 72 With heaps of slain Th'Heroic Man..Mowing across, bestrews the plain, And with new tenants crowds the wealthy grave.
1774 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 64 355 I found it impossible to saw it directly a-cross.
1828 London Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 1 459 Having ascertained that the ulna was carious as far as the coronoid process, Mr. Syme sawed it across at this part.
a1865 H. Falconer Palaeontological Mem. (1868) 124 The fangs and base of the tooth are broken off right across.
1944 Pop. Mech. Dec. 139 After cutting the metal diagonally across..the resulting tabs can be broken off.
1999 J. Ross in RNA–protein Interaction Protocols 471 Working in the cold room, lay the centrifuge tube on its side..and cut it across with a razor blade.
b. Nautical. Chiefly with reference to a yard: in position at right angles to the centre line of the vessel. Now historical and rare.
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?1536 (c1443) Batayll of Egyngecourte , in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) II. sig. Aii These goodly shyppes lay there at rode With mast-yardes a crosse.
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. E Our yardes a crosse, our anchors on the pike, What shall we hence and take this merry gale?
1601 R. Cecil Let. 20 July in T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia (1633) ii. viii. 183 And ride with their yards a Crosse.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ix. 45 To ride acrosse is to hoise the maine and fore yards to the hounds, and topped alike.
1743 G. Anson 16 Mar. in Voy. to South-Seas (1744) 319 We got the Maintop-sail-yard across, and continued rigging the Ship.
1794 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) I. 504 [Ships] of the Line, sails bent, some with top-gallant yards across.
1843 J. Barrow Life Francis Drake ii. 52 There was within the next point a great ship of Seville, which..was riding now with her yards across.
1890 Times 19 Sept. 7/6 The mainmast was standing with lower yards across.
1904 E. Fraser Famous Fighters of Fleet v. 283 What has puzzled many critics of the famous picture, the removal to be broken up of a man-of-war rigged and masted and with yards across.
c. (So as to fill spaces) along a horizontal line of a puzzle, now usually a crossword puzzle. Usually following the number of the word or clue. Cf. down adv. 1c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > puzzle > [adverb] > of a crossword clue or answer
across1874
down1924
1874 Home Mail Oct. 152/3 Diamond.—Down, something that gladdens my readers every month; Across, 1st, a consonant, [etc.].
1924 C. Layng Cross-word Puzzles 7 We now have..the first two letters of No. 7 across.
1944 T. A. Bott How to make Crossword Puzzles i. 5 Avoid two-letter spaces, either Across or Down.
1960 G. W. Target Teachers 47 ‘Good morning, Purnell,’ said Woodgate from about seven across and nine down in his crossword, ‘though it's really rather cold, isn't it?’
1971 R. Rendell One Across iii. 30 He filled in 28 across, which completed his puzzle.
2005 M. Lockwood Labyrinth of Time (2007) ii. 24 Should I be said to be in the same place when I fill in, say, ‘21 down’ as when I earlier filled in ‘6 across’?
3. Chiefly figurative. Not straight or directly; obliquely, askance; awry, amiss, at odds. Now regional. Cf. sense B. 1b, to get across —— at get v. Phrasal verbs 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adverb] > askew
acrooka1387
wrongc1440
overthwartlya1470
adoylea1475
awry1487
crooked1545
across1559
askew1565
cam1579
alurk1581
skew-whiff1754
a-twist1755
agley1786
skeow-ways1869
off-kilter1929
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [adverb] > in a wrong way, amiss
on missc1225
overthwarta1382
a-crookc1500
awrya1513
wide?1529
astray1535
across1559
bias1600
outa1641
beside the bridge1652
on the wrong side of the post1728
abroad1806
off1843
way off1882
off beam1941
up the boohai?1946
the world > space > direction > [adverb] > off the direct line > obliquely
asidec1369
aslanta1400
slant1495
obliquely1503
asklenta1540
askew1565
slantingly1570
slantwise1573
wry1575
bias?1578
askance1590
askant1602
slantinga1625
asquint1645
across1700
slantly1719
akimboc1796
slantways1828
aslantwise1852
slantingways1899
1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates f. xlii.v Whan king & Quene sawe thinges thus go a crosse, To quiet all a parliament they called.
1628 J. Hall Contempl. Hist. New Test. iii. 64 The squint-eyd Pharisees looke a-crosse at all the actions of Christ.
1687 R. L'Estrange Answer to Let. to Dissenter 8 This Gentleman will needs set them on a-Cross, and then Exclayme against them as [the most Contrary Things in the World].
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Wife of Bathe's Tale in Fables 493 No Father can infuse, or Wit, or Grace, A Mother comes across, and marrs the Race. A Grandsire, or a Grandame taints the Blood; And seldom three Descents continue Good.
1887 S. Baring-Gould Red Spider I. vii. 110 When folks who look straight before them fall across.
1891 S. J. Weyman New Rector ix. 173 Lindo must beware of getting across with him.
1892 Cornhill Mag. July 28 Matters were soon across again between the pair.
1910 Amer. Mag. Aug. 487/1 The trollop wouldn't care about a little thing like that, but natur' cared, you see. If you get across with her she always gets back on you.
1912 W. S. Houghton Hindle Wakes i. i. 12 You don't know Nat like I do. He's a bad one to get across with.
4. With specified measurement: in width; from side to side.
ΚΠ
1681 T. De Laune Present State London iii. 19 The Cross 15 Foot and an half high, and very near 6 Foot across.
1759 W. Harte Hist. Life Gustavus Adolphus II. 139 It [sc. the river Lech] measures forty yards across at the point..where the bridge was erected.
1806 Z. M. Pike Jrnl. 14 Aug. (1966) I. 303 Passed the Park, which is ten miles round, and not more than three quarters of a mile across.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 588/2 In some Indian species the pores are one-sixth of an inch across.
1928 Amer. Mineralogist 13 349 The norbergite occurs in a coarsely crystalline limestone from the Nicoll Quarry, and grains or crystals are commonly several millimeters across.
1989 I. Frazier Great Plains i. 6 The Great Plains are about 2,500 miles long, and about 600 miles across at their widest point.
2003 B. Bryson Short Hist. Nearly Everything (2004) xv. 279 The explosion had left a crater nearly 65 kilometres across—much too huge to be perceived from anywhere at ground level.
5.
a. So as to cross an intervening space; to the other side of a separating expanse; to a place that is nearby but not immediately adjacent.
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1718 S. Ockley Hist. Saracens II. 361 They Decamped under the Protection of the Night, and marched across over Mesopotamia till they came to Mausil.
1777 J. Potter Let. 30 Oct. in G. Washington Papers (2002) Revolutionary War Ser. XII. 63 I will do everey thing in my power to prevent there Gating a Bridge across again.
1806 W. Clark Jrnl. 30 Aug. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1993) VIII. 331 7 of them..told us to come across and they would kill us all.
1818 C. E. Dodd Autumn near Rhine 13 You are punted across by three or four heavy boatmen.
1901 H. Lawson Joe Wilson & his Mates ii. 283 I'll go straight across to the police camp and put you away, and I don't care if you lose your licence.
1915 C. Mathewson Catcher Craig xxii. 302 They were kicking their feet and whistling and shouting across at him.
1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managem. (1990) ii. 40 The risk of the power arcing from the cables across to a tree.
2010 New Statesman 25 Jan. 51/2 I went across and asked one of them where he lived.
b. In a position actually or potentially the result of crossing anything; on the other side; in a place nearby but not immediately adjacent. Frequently followed by from.last across: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [adverb] > across
across1816
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. III. 49 Lord Evandale..was no sooner across than he was charged by the left body of the enemy's cavalry.
1851 G. Gilfillan Bards Bible xiii. 241 Across from him is the treasure-finder..hiding his precious prize.
1883 D. M. Courbold Loyal Hearts II. xvii. 265 ‘The weather seems to be clearing,’ he remarked... ‘Yes; I suppose we shall soon be across now,’ Bertie replied.
1925 W. Cather Professor's House ii. ii. 189 Just across from us..stood the mesa, a pile of purple rock.
1927 Times 20 Dec. 15/7 Across on the east bank you will see the Shilluk.
1973 J. Berryman Recovery (1974) 63 The lectures had been across in the main hospital building.
1986 R. Sproat Stunning the Punters 181 She was across there visiting one of her old ladies.
2008 N.Y. Mag. 29 Sept. 34/2 Glassmire operates out of a decommissioned Holiday Inn across from the SUNY campus.
c. U.S. across to: = up adv.2 19d. rare.
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1911 R. W. Chambers Common Law x. 303 It's across to her, now.
6. So as to be understood or appreciated (in a specified manner); so as to communicate successfully or effectively. Chiefly in to come across 2 at come v. Phrasal verbs 1, to get across at get v. Phrasal verbs 1, to put across 3 at put v. Phrasal verbs 1.
ΚΠ
1920 Factory 15 Dec. 1970/3 It was evident that the idea was not going across as it should.
1922 Xi Psi Phi Q. Nov. 58 It seems to me if we adhere to it, have an ideal established and so safeguard the funds so that they will never be diverted from the object for which we shall have dedicated them, that it will go across well.
1975 Los Angeles Times 5 Apr. ii. 7/1 The group's music occasionally..lacked the tightness which would have brought the message across with truly devastating impact.
2004 D. Simpson in H. Bordowitz Noise of World 13 Political lyrics don't really go across in Jamaica now.
B. prep.
1. † b. At odds with, at variance with. Obsolete.
a. Expressing direction: located in a direction forming a cross with, or transverse to.
(a) At right angles to; from one side to the other of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > across [preposition]
thwart-overa1225
thwart1470
thorter1533
across1538
traverse1548
traverse to (also of)1548
athwart1598
transverse1607
thwart of1667
1538 Iniunctions for Clerge (single sheet) No candels, tapers or Images of wax to be set afore any Image or picture, but only the lyghte that comenlye gothe acrosse the church, by the roode lofte, the lyght afore the sacrament of thaulter, and the lyght about the sepulchre.
1575 T. Churchyard 1st Pt. Chippes f. 96v With baskets byg, and thinges to sarue the turne A crosse the street, a trauers made there was.
1580 J. Florio tr. J. Cartier Shorte Narr. Two Nauigations Newe Fraunce 14 We being a crosse the sayde Capes, discouered another lande and Cape.
1641 E. Harris True Rel. Company Brownists sig. A3 The dead to bee laid in the ground a crosse the Church or Churchyard, or with their heads toward the East.
a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 45 A long table..placed lengthways in an aisle which stands over across the church.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Cross-piece or Cross-beam, a Beam laid a-cross another: In a Ship, it is a great piece of Timber that goes a-cross two other pieces call'd Bitts.
1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fourth 41 Faith builds a Bridge across the Gulph of Death.
1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 77 How idly hangs that arch magnificent, Across the idle river.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere in Poems (new ed.) I. 156 But there was that across his throat Which you had hardly cared to see.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §12, 88 A line set across the fissured portion [of the ice].
1904 Collier's 7 May 7/2 Consider the benefits of..a canal across the Isthmus.
1921 M. Moore Let. 20 Feb. in Sel. Lett. (1997) 144 His batwing tie sat neatly across his collar.
1990 W. A. Livesey GCSE Motor Vehicle Stud. xii. 101/1 A beam goes transversely across the vehicle.
(b) At any angle with; sideways or obliquely against.to cut across: see cut v. 15a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > obliquely against or across [preposition]
aslanta1616
across1626
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [preposition] > across
overeOE
atour1423
thwart1470
athwart1598
across1626
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §223 The Harpe hath the Concaue, not along the Strings, but acrosse the Strings.
1661 A. Cowley Ess. in Verse & Prose (1669) 78 Across his Breast an azure Ruban went.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 469 From Lyons there is another great Rent, that runs across the whole Country.
1747 W. Collins Odes 50 When Cheerfulness, a Nymph of healthiest Hue, Her bow a-cross her Shoulder flung.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. iii. 82 His gun was slung across his shoulders.
1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. ii. 211 Across our gracious lady's bed A blast hath come as from the grave.
1860 C. Dickens Uncommerc. Traveller in All Year Round 7 Apr. 561/2 A wind very like the March east wind of England, blew across me.
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes xix. 252 [The ape] threw her roughly across his broad, hairy shoulders and leaped back into the trees.
1931 K. A. Porter Let. 28 Aug. (1990) i. 54 Two sabre scars across his cheek and forehead.
2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers v. 188 The child had sat, arms folded across her chest.
ΚΠ
1607 N. Roscarrock Let. 7 Aug. in G. Ornsby Select. from Househ. Bks. Naworth Castle (1878) Addenda 507 And now yf you would give me leave from Crosses to fall acrosse you, I beseech consyder whether you..or Capgrave..be more extreame.
1765 G. Colman tr. Terence Eunuch iii. vi, in tr. Terence Comedies 156 Is there not Some curious impertinent to come Across me now, and murder me with questions?
1793 Parl. Reg. Ireland XIII. 187 The amending that state by a specific plan is the business most honourably and disinterestedly occupied by another right honourable member, whom I wish on this subject not to come across, but follow and assist.
c. Indirectly or unintentionally into contact with. Only with verbs, as to come across —— at come v. Phrasal verbs 2, to fall across —— at fall v. Phrasal verbs 2, to run across —— at run v. Phrasal verbs 2.
ΚΠ
1774 L. Carter Diary 27 June (1965) II. 838 I came across many heaps of withered hash tobacco.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xii. vii. 413 Chance threw me across him, as he came out of a printing-house.
1869 Yale Lit. Mag. June 409 The appellation, which we happened across the other day in an old volume of the Lit.
1905 Ophthalmoscope 3 525 It is indeed seldom that one happens across an expression such as ‘every hundred eyes performed on for cataract’.
1970 L. Niven Ringworld 106 Suppose an Outsider ship hadn't stumbled across a United Nations ramrobot?
2000 Kerryman (County Kerry) 8 Sept. 22/1 At the O'Connell monument we knocked across Johnny Morrissey, Gortroe.
2.
a. Expressing motion or comparable action: from one side to the other of; right through or over, in any direction except lengthwise. Also: (with reference to conversation) from one side to another of a table set with (food or drink).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > sideways [preposition] > across from side to side
thoroughOE
athwartc1470
across?1540
thwart1583
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [preposition] > across
overeOE
athwartc1470
thorter1533
across?1540
cross1551
?1540 Pract. Cyrurgyons sig. Av He cutteth a crosse the skynne, the musculus flesshe, with the Pannycles & theyr Commyssuris with the Pelicranium.
1597 E. Hoby tr. B. de Mendoza Theorique & Practise Warre 72 They must put the boates acrosse the water, forming a Bridge.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 15 When my good Falcon, made her flight a-crosse Thy Fathers ground. View more context for this quotation
1695 J. Sergeant Let. from Trooper in Flanders 5 Luxemburg coming across the Country, we were fain to out run our new Fortress.
1744 J. Thomson Spring in Seasons (new ed.) 21 You, now retiring, following now Across the Stream, exhaust his idle Rage.
1777 Trial Joseph Stacpoole, William Gapper, & James Lagier 51 I looked across the room when I had got about half way into it.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 275 Pushing iv'ry balls Across a velvet level.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Miller's Daughter (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 103 After-dinner talk Across the walnuts and the wine.
1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt III. xlvi. 228 A sort of gleam seemed to shoot across his face.
1866 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 1st Ser. 372 A footman will run your errand across the town.
1876 G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. i. 16 All its associations and its traditions swept at once across his memory.
1879 Ld. Tennyson Lover's Tale (new ed.) 9 Permit me, friend, I prythee, To pass my hand across my brows.
1909 H. G. Wells Ann Veronica vii. 156 They talked across their meal in an easy and friendly manner.
1932 Punch 23 Nov. 571 (caption) No doubt it would be more convenient if errand-boys would signal when they intend to dash across the road.
1956 S. Plath Jrnl. 23 July (2000) 252 Looking across at the white mesas lying like low-hanging clouds in the distance.
1976 T. Stoppard Dirty Linen 27 Yes, I once took a train journey right across America.
2001 K. Walker & M. Schone Son of Grifter vii. 69 Carrying the human cargo back north across the border.
2010 A. M. Oberdeck Salesman's Guide Hunting 80 Maybe..I could talk to her across a meal.
b. Expressing scope or extent: so as to include or encompass (a specified category or range); throughout, all through.
ΚΠ
1865 New Monthly Mag. 134 382 From the breathings of the tenderest love to the wildest cry of sorrow..across a range so varied and extensive Paludan-Müller has proved at once the resources of the Danish tongue.
1910 S. P. Thompson Life W. Thomson ix. 440 Stretching across a range of physical science which includes regions little known and rarely visited at present.
1972 J. M. Sinclair Course in Spoken Eng.: Gram. 3 Strict grammatical relationships need only be made across stretches of language a few words long.
1990 Successful Selling Mar. 6/2 The survey..examined salaries across consumer products and durables, capital equipment and business industrial product sectors.
2003 Creativity May 34 Chase works across a range of design disciplines.
c. Originally U.S. Expressing distribution: throughout, all over, in all or many parts of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > here, there, etc. > here or there [preposition] > throughout
throughOE
throughoutc1275
across1935
1935 Boys' Life June 45/4 (advt.) Up and down and across the country, Bell System employees are in constant attendance at repeater stations.
1958 Wall St. Jrnl. 8 Apr. 1/6 Private detectives specializing in ‘repos’ across the country report gains.
1961 L. Hughes Ask your Mama 43 They know me, too, downtown, All across the country, Europe—Me who used to be nobody.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 5/7 The teen-agers arrive with a petition that has been going around high schools across the province since the fall.
1978 Times 10 Mar. 16 The money raised in Oxfam shops across Britain goes to create employment opportunities..in poor countries throughout the world.
2009 Daily Tel. 9 Apr. 23/2 Communities across America are bypassing the dollar and creating their own currencies.
3. Expressing position: on the other side of, beyond, over.across the water: see water n. 11c.
ΚΠ
1740 W. Stukeley Stonehenge ix. 41 About half a mile north of Stonehenge, across the first valley, is the cursus or hippodrom, which I discovered, August 6, 1723.
1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague II. lxxx. 69 The island of Orleans, by the falls of Montmorenci..is almost nine miles distant, across the great bason of Quebec.
1831 J. Banim Smuggler I. xii. 276 What is he to do without a sharp 'un to chaffer with the Parleys across the briney?
1853 H. Skene Diary Martha Bethune Baliol xvi. 277 ‘I see you have a glass of water near you. I shan't look, so you may make it “the king over the water”, if you like.’.. ‘Not at all necessary, dear cousin—nay, don't shut your eyes. I am not going to drink to “the king across the water”.’
1856 Ld. Tennyson Daisy (rev. ed.) in Maud & Other Poems (new ed.) 153 To lands of summer across the sea.
1884 W. Hardman Trip to Amer. xix. 175 I doubt if any other Englishman ever before had an interview under similar circumstances with any of the chiefs of the Great Republic across the Atlantic.
1914 T. S. Eliot Let. 25 July (1988) I. 44 The married girl who lives across the street Wraps her soul in orange-coloured robes of Chopinese.
1947 Times 13 Mar. 6/3 This aid from our children from across the ocean was little more than half of the money racketed away by the post-war Army in Germany.
1999 S. Heaney tr. Beowulf (2000) 59 If ever I hear from across the ocean that people on your borders are threatening battle.
2008 J. Quinn Goodnight Ballivor xxviii. 130 The plane landed in the cowplot across the road.
C. adj.
Of a crossword clue or answer: that fills or is intended to fill the spaces along a horizontal line of the puzzle. See sense A. 2c. Cf. down adj. 1e.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > puzzle > [adjective] > relating to crossword clues
across1925
down1925
1925 C. Layng Layng's Junior Cross-word Puzzles 8 Running slowly through the ‘across’ definitions.
1963 D. St. P. Barnard Anat. Crossword ii. 37 Some enthusiasts even went to the extent of making a duplicate pattern and working the Across clues on one, and the Down clues on the other.
1986 Times 5 Sept. 12/2 I believe that setters usually start with the Across clues... The Down clues..are usually easier.
1998 Eng. Bridge Oct. 23/1 The crossword is a normal crossword except that..some of the across answers are affected by Waldo's convention.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.prep.adj.a1250- over-labour
- over-laboured
- over-labouring
- over-lace
- over-lactation
- over-lascivious
- over-last
- over-laud
- over-laudation
- over-laughing
- over-lavishness
- over-lawyer-like
- over-laxative
- over-leaven
- over-leer
- over-leg
- over-legislation
- over-leisured
- over-lenient
- over-letter
- over-lewd
- over-licentious
- over-life-size
- over-lightheaded
- over-liking